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I live on the ocean, write women's fiction, love to read so much that it's an addiction rather than a hobby (I read an average of a book a day). I live on the wet west coast so it's a good thing that I like to walk in the rain.

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Movie Soundtracks


I'm working on a book right now - Last Night at the Halfmoon - which revolves around the closing of a drive-in movie theatre and so I've been spending a lot of time in the past few weeks thinking about movies.

All the chapters have movie titles as subtitles - and right now I'm working on Chapter 24 - The Days of Wine and Roses - and I can't help myself, I've been singing that song under my breath all day.

It made me think about how important good music is to a movie and how many soundtracks I love.

Sleepless in Seattle - Jimmy Durante and Carly Simon and Tammy Wynette all on a single CD. It's wonderful.

Garden State - full of songs that I would never even hear on the radio, and would certainly never buy, but the soundtrack is terrific.

The Commitments - maybe my favorite soundtrack ever - I play it over and over and over again, great soul music, great consistency, great all over.

O, Brother, Where Art Thou? - I love the Coen Brothers - Fargo is one of my favorite movies ever, and I like this movie, but I LOVE the soundtrack. It's entertaining, it's funny and nostalgic and moving all at the same time.

Immortal Beloved - and who can't love a soundtrack full of music by Beethoven? and a great emotional movie to go along with it?

I do have other movie soundtracks in my collection - but you'll notice what I don't have - I don't have musicals. I like them, but for me, it's very seldom that the songs stand up on their own without the movie to back them up. Individual songs, yes, but not the whole soundtrack. Even West Side Story which I think has terrific music, doesn't make it all the way through an album.

Which are your favorite movie soundtracks?

Kate

1 comment:

Sarah Grimm said...

Hey Kate!

THE JAZZ SINGER is my favorite movie soundtrack.

Growing up, I listened to my parents music preferences which were mostly musicals so I have to say I really enjoy EVITA as well. (The original broadway cast with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin)